Conn. police: Fighting finches had sharpened beaks

NEW HAVEN, Conn. 
Some saffron finches seized last month in an alleged Connecticut bird-fighting ring had sharpened beaks, and at least one had a sharp metal object attached to its beak, police said Friday.

Investigators said in an arrest affidavit unsealed Thursday that their search of a house in Shelton, west of New Haven, turned up superglue, antibiotics, skin and blood supplements, a mini digital scale and unknown powders that are being tested.

"We feel it was things to treat the injured birds or to increase their stamina or their ability to fight," said Shelton Police Detective Benjamin Trabka.

About 15 birds had serious head, neck and chest injuries, Trabka said. One had a sharp piece of metal attached to its beak and investigators were told spurs were attached to the birds' beaks, the detective said.

Trabka said the use of the sharp attachments appeared isolated, speculating that may have been a version of extreme fighting.

"It appeared beaks on some of the birds were ground to a point," Trabka said.

Police arrested 19 people from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey and seized 150 birds in the house raid. Most of the birds were saffron finches, which are small birds native to South America, and a few were canaries, officials said.

Female canaries perched in a separate cage above the fighting cage may have been used to entice the male finches to fight, Trabka said.

Police said they made the arrests July 26 just as spectators had placed bets and were getting ready to watch the birds fight at the home. Authorities say they seized $8,000 in alleged betting money.

Authorities often deal with cockfighting, but police and animal experts said they had not heard of fighting involving finches and canaries before.

The 19 people, all originally from Brazil, were charged with cruelty to animals and gambling. Police also charged the homeowner, 42-year-old Jurames Goulart, with interfering with officers.

Goulart, a landscaper, denied the charges, saying he had the birds for singing. A telephone message was left for him Friday.

"I take care of the birds," he told The Associated Press last month. "They're like my son."

But his wife, Maria, told the AP her husband and others trained the birds to fight and gave them some type of food, either protein or sugar, that made them more hyper.

The birds would fight for some 15 minutes, pecking each other in the legs, head and eyes, according to Maria Goulart. She said the fights have been going on for years around the region.

Experts say finches and canaries can be territorial and aggressive if placed in overcrowded conditions.